Rubbing Elbows with the Enemy – Conversations with Stella

Me: And I am not. What I am right now is amazed, startled, even shocked, because I just caught a glimpse of something on the patio, something surprising, staggering, incomprehensible…

Stella: Okay. We get it. Something weird happened.

Me: You should know. You were at the center of the weird.

Stella: Let’s see. I was panting because it is hot.

Me: That’s not weird. That’s normal.

Stella: I got excited when the tiny human puppy visited again and I knocked my water bowl over.

Me: You get excited whenever anybody visits, though admittedly not to the point of upsetting the bowls.

Stella: Weird, huh? Oh, yeah, I had a meeting with Jerky McSquirrelyFace out on the patio. Nice guy.

Me: You don’t think that’s weird after all the running and the chasing and him throwing nuts down on all of us and the saber rattling and the threats of all out squirrel/bulldog war…

Stella: We talked. They’ve just about run out of pecans here. We made a deal. There won’t be as much nut tossing from now on.

Me: You talked. Huh. So, there is an outbreak of peace between squirrels and bulldogs?

Stella: No, not really. We are just on summer hiatus.

Me: You know what a ‘hiatus’ is?

Stella: Sure. Yes. No. Maybe. I am thinking it is like a vacation. Anyway, Jerky and I decided that it was too hot to fight right now so we are putting all plans off until the leaves start to fall and the air is cooler. And then, Jerky, watch out! Autumn is coming!